


This Burden, This Gift

by Durrr07



Series: Zutara Week [2019] [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Comforting Couples, F/M, Fluff, Gift, Super Sad but Super Cute, Zutara, Zutara Week 2019, we've all been there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-31
Updated: 2019-07-31
Packaged: 2020-07-27 17:36:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20049916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Durrr07/pseuds/Durrr07
Summary: Today, this one day each year, Katara's soul begins to snap down and break.It's a good thing Zuko has learned how to comfort his girlfriend.My prompt for Zutara Week Day 1: Gift.Super cute, Slightly sad and Super AU.[A very early and unseen chapter from my fanfiction story 'Gasoline' (found on FF) This can easily be read as a stand alone.]





	This Burden, This Gift

“Let’s go Aang! You need to be throwing them further!” Toph’s voice echos thoughout the solid arena she and the rest were training in. The dome made of earth, courtesy of said earth bender, resided right underneath their ‘safe house’, which was really just Uncle’s tea shop, The Jasmine Dragon. It served as a tea house for customers, a home for the ragtag group of teens, and a secret training facility below. A great space to use when preparing to take down a major, evil corporation.

Aang, who is five minutes into this circuit and already dripping sweat, is clearly struggling to push harder. He stands fifty feet away from Toph and she is hurling massive rocks towards him. Aang is supposed to be deflecting them by using air and earth bending to launch them back towards her to make a hit. He is struggling.

“Okay! Enough of this. Let’s switch it up.” Shouts Lu Ten from the sidelines, where everyone else is. Sokka and Suki are standing together doing some stretches, Zuko is leaning against the wall with his arms crossed while observing the mock battle, and Katara is sitting further away, her mind even further.

“No! He hasn’t gotten enough practice this week! He needs to finish these practices at least more three times.” Toph huffs, steam nearly rolling from her head in irritation.

Lu Ten holds back a chuckle, knowing full well she’ll use her badger mole abilities to sneak up and punch him.

“How about a different circuit where we can incorporate this one?” He offers.

“Oh yeah genius? And what would that be?” She retorts.

“How about teams? You, Aang and I against the others.”

She stills as she thinks about it.

Lu Ten sets the bait: “I mean, if you’re not up for the challenge of four people to three---“

“FINE! Let’s do this.”

\------

It is a showdown on the field. Each element being wielded as if the battle were right here with them. The ground rules, which were explained to each member, are crystal clear: Know yours and your opponent’s limitations. Training to defeat and intent to kill are lines too often crossed and Iroh is sure to beat it into their brains that they are not to cause severe injuries to one another. This, however, does not make the challenges any less intense.

Lu Ten is fighting with the two non-benders and they are giving him one hell of a fight. Suki and Sokka have been training together for years in many forms of martial arts so they fight like two halves of a whole. Lu Ten unleashes a long fire whip, jetting it towards them fast. Suki flips backwards over the line of fire and Sokka twists mid air like a human tornado. They both stick their landing before rushing to close the distance. Suki gets a punch in after some dodging. Lu Ten takes the nose bleed but it does not deter him. His hand to hand combat is nearly as expert as his fire bending.

Aang and Zuko are in a tussle, wielding fire against air frequently. Aang uses the elements he is more familiar with, fire and air, together which makes Zuko work even harder to pin him. Zuko starts to utilizes his knowledge of other elemental bending, making tiny balls of fire like rocks and long whips like water and gives Aang a taste of his own medicine.

Toph is massacring Katara. She is pulling rock and dirt from around her, using the tiny pebbles as distractions and the massive rocks as hits. Katara is slacking, she can feel the dragging exhaustion in her muscles and her mind can’t seem to focus on one action. Her whips are sloppy, discs askew, and spears weak. She feels like she’s watching herself lose this battle and it becomes very annoying. Toph will never let her live it down.

“What’s going on Sugar Queen? Got your head too far up your ass?” Toph taunts from across the arena.

Katara growls as she starts to freeze Toph in an ice cocoon. But Toph saw this coming and keeps it from ever finishing. She cuts its down each time Katara tries to make it grow. She then ditches her cocoon attempts and starts creating ice spears instead of walls. The spikes start to surround the blind bender and enclose on her. She gets one close enough to Toph’s ear before it’s easily swatted away with little to no effort.

With the spears easily defeated, Katara lets the water puddle below Tophs feet. She freezes the water and starts to pull it all up at once, like a platform to keep Toph off of the ground. Toph nearly loses her balance but raises her fists to bring a bridge of dirt in front of her. She steps up to it and lets it fall to the ground, still intact with her on top, as it crushes Katara’s ice stage.

“Seriously Sugar Queen—why do you suck today?” Toph shouts, half laugh half serious. “Get your head in the game and fight me!”

Katara drops all sources of water, rolls her head back and screams. She screams to the sky, her eyes closed with tears begging to fall down her cheeks.

Everyone stops immediately.

Before anyone can say a word, she takes off running towards the dirt stairs that will take her above ground. Once out of view, everyone looks around at each other.

“What was that about?” Aang says first, hand resting on the back of his neck to relieve the awkward air around them.

“Is she that much of a sore loser?” Toph asks with a frown as she crosses her arms.

Zuko and Lu Ten look at Sokka thinking he might have an answer. Sokka scratches his chin, eyes to the ceiling as he thinks on it. He’s thinking for ten, twenty, thirty seconds---

Suki gasps. “Sokka! What’s the date?”

Sokka’s eyes go wide as his hand falls to his side. “Oh shit.”

He looks over to Zuko, his eyes telling it all.

“I’ll go talk to her.” Zuko tells them as he takes his leave.

\-------

He finds her on the window sill in one of the shared bedrooms, her knees curled up to her chest and her head resting gently on them. He can hear her short breaths as she struggles to take a deep breath. Zuko’s heart drops and his throat starts to close. Her pain upsets him greatly.

He steps inside the bedroom and the wooden boards beneath his feet give out a groan. He watches her body tense as she says, “I’m not in the mood to talk Sokka.”

“It’s not Sokka.”

Her head whips around to him. Her eyes are wide but her lips still tremble. He holds out his arms as he walks closer to her. She lets him gather her in his arms, working around the window so she’s crushed against his chest, legs draped over his. She cries against his shirt and he now knows it was a wise decision to grab one on the way up. He doesn’t try to talk to her because words were never his strong suit, but he holds her close and gently kisses her forehead all the while stroking her hair. They’ve fallen into a pattern of comfort and knowing just what works the best. Whenever he feels guilt, utter shame or despair – she knows exactly how to pull him back.

They sit, for quite some time, before she says “Sheiofusels rsi—“ or at least that’s all Zuko catches against his chest.

“Come here Kat, I can’t hear you well.” He gracefully tilts her chin up towards him so she can talk to him.

“Nine years ago today is when she died Zuko. She died protecting me and its all my fault.” Zuko’s eyes find her scar, the one on her shoulder that has faded over the years. “This is all because of this stupid thing I was born with. This curse, this wretched burden, this horrible THING! They were looking for me and she wouldn’t let them take me! She risked her life protecting me and I’ve got nothing to show for it! She’s gone and it’s all my fault!” She’s shouting by this point and Zuko, eyes wide and brimmed with pain, pulls her back to him in a bone crushing hold. Hysterics set in and Katara struggles to breathe again. She cries those soul hounding sobs with no tears and she looks absolutely broken. Touch, comfort and warmth are what helps her the most so he keeps her warm, he holds her tight and he tells her that this could never, ever, ever be her fault.

They sit for five, ten, endless amounts of minutes in Zuko’s mind because he doesn’t give a damn how long it takes, he would sit here forever if it helped her in anyway. Months after they met, her childhood horror came to light between the group and he, understanding exactly what its like to have a mother give up their life for a child, listened to her and talked with her which inevitably created a solid bond between the two which now seems impossibly inseparable. Not that he minds one bit. He understands her pain and he doesn’t try to cover it up, act like it never happened nor deter her from the truth. And in return she does the same, but so much more.

He feels her start to pull away so he loosens his grip. She pulls back just enough to rest her cheek on his shoulder, eyes looking out through the window to the horizon of the setting sun. She is quiet, maybe wanting to keep the silence or for him to fill it, he’s not entirely sure. So he decides to speak.

“When you and Sokka tell us stories about your mother, I listen. I listen to every word you two say and then I save the information inside of a vault of sorts inside of my brain.” She’s looking at him now, puffy eyes and all. “I save them because I want to learn as much as I can about the woman who raised such a strong, independent and frightening daughter.” A protest is on the tip of her tongue when he continues, “I mean that in the best way possible. I thank Agni we’re fighting on the same side because I cannot imagine going against you in an actual fight.” She blushes at the compliment as he leaves a gentle kiss to the top of her head.

“She must have been incredible to raise such a wonderful young woman and Sokka.” She giggles at this. He does too. “And I wish I could have met her to thank her because without her you wouldn’t be here.” Her eyes soften at his words.

“I think she would have really liked you Zuko. Even when you stumble over your words when you’re nervous, she would have loved to have you be a part of our family.” Katara whispers, a smile at her lips. Zuko’s heart warms and a blush rises to his cheeks. “I’m glad to hear it. At least I don't blabber nervously when it really matters.” He says before getting to the unpleasant part of this conversation.

“I know how you’re feeling Katara. I know that guilt sits in your stomach at times and it feels like it’s going to burn you alive or swallow you whole and you just can’t shake it. You can’t cry it out, you can’t scream it out and no one can get rid of it for you. So you sit, and you think and your heart feels sick with it, like a slow poison that’s feeding you doses. You feel like you shouldn’t be here, shouldn’t be alive because you’re a burden; a problem; a sore and that guilt just grows and grows and grows until you can’t see the sky anymore and you can’t figure out which way is out and then—“ He stops to catch his breath. Katara’s hand comes up to cup his cheek, her fingers caressing his scar. He squeezes her waist.

“It’s hard Katara. It’s still going to be hard and painful and nothing I can tell you will bring her back and I’m so, so sorry.” He is aware that she already knows this, but he feels like he’s saying it for the both of them now. “But I don’t ever want you to blame yourself. Your mother was doing what she knew best, keeping you safe, keeping you alive.” He pauses to look at her, really look at her. “And from everything you guys have told me, all the way from Sokka trying to kick you out as a baby to a burning marshmallow to the face, I don’t doubt for a second that your mother regrets her decision.”

Her lip is trembling again but her tears are subdued. She waits quietly, knowing he will continue.

“This thing you call a curse is really a gift. My mother used to tell me this when I was younger because Azula was so much better than I and I was always so jealous and angry. I could see it in my father’s eyes, the way he would look at me like some sort of disease. I couldn’t even match up to my younger sister and he hated it. I would get so upset and curse the Gods who gave me this power without the ability to wield it. But my mother would remind me that this,” he lifts his hand to demonstrate with a small flame in his palm, “this is an opportunity. It is a gift. Given to the right people with good hearts, we can use this for all that we’re meant to. To stop people like my father from making the rest of the world think we are burdened.” He drops his hand and the flame is dispersed. 

“I’m so sorry for everything my family has put you through Katara.” He cups her face in his palms. “And if you let me, I’ll spend the rest of my life fighting along side you to fix what they have broken. For you, your mother, your family, and everyone else in the world who has been severed by my family name.”

She twists in his arms and pulls him into a heart melting hug. He drops his face to her neck and they sit, holding onto what the world has taken from them and what they have left in each other.

“Thank you Zuko, for everything.” She kisses his head, then his cheek, then his lips. Her lips, tracked in tears, taste like salt but he could care less. This moment is too precious to interrupt.

She pulls away from him to look into his eyes.

“I can’t wait to fight along side you when we bring this whole company burning to the ground.”

He flashes her a smile before pulling her back in for another simplistically heart melting kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> WOW I'M A LITTLE LATE TO THE GAME. Please excuse my delay.
> 
> So this is a half stand alone/half future chapter in my FanFiction.net WIP 'Gasoline' [under my FF name Durrr] which is a cool Zutara AU that I've got to re-edit.  
This prompt could totally work for Day 1, Day 2, AND Day 3 but I'll just keep it at one.  
I hope you enjoyed this adorable fluff bucket :]
> 
> The composers that helped me achieve the somber mood to write this include: Nicholas Hooper, Johann Johannsson, and James Horner.


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